Burns, Lackey too much for McDonough Rams

Senior rushes for 295 yards, 5 TDs in win

Lackey cruised to a 41- 6 victory over McDonough in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division contest Friday night behind a stellar ground game led by senior Malik Burns and a stingy defense.

The Chargers rushing attack collected 355 yards on 35 attempts, with Burns carrying 19 times for 295 yards and five touchdowns.

“He’s really developed into a special player,” Lackey head coach John Lush said of Burns. “He opened the game with an 85- yard touchdown run on the very first play and that set the tone for the rest of the game. Our offensive line has been doing a great job all season and when Malik hits the holes he’s really tough to bring down in the open field.”

McDonough head coach first- year Jonathan Briscoe had gained respect for Burns watching the Chargers running back on film, but he got an added measure of awe when watching Burns compete at ground level.

“He’s a big, strong, fast kid,” Briscoe said. “We knew he was going to be tough to defend, but seeing him in person brings a whole new dimension. Once he gets rolling, he’s tough to bring down. But Lackey is a really, really good team and they’re well- coached. We were not surprised, but it showed us what we have to do to get to where they are.”

Lackey ( 7- 1, 4- 0 SMAC Chesapeake) will travel to La Plata for a 7 p. m. contest Friday, but Lush is hardly viewing the game with the Warriors as a cinch. La Plata ( 2- 6, 0- 4) gave Westlake a tussle in Week 8 before eventually falling 32- 29.

“Looking at them on film is a lot different than looking at them on paper,” Lush said. “[ La Plata head] coach [ Rod] Milstead really has those guys playing well and buying into what he wants to do. They’re a much improved team and they’re offense, especially with all of the passes they like to throw, is different from what we see most weeks and it’s going to be diffifificult to defend.”

Lackey will maintain its unpretentious offensive approach and look to get Burns ample carries between the tackles. The Chargers running back has rushed for 1,749 yards and 19 touchdowns through the first eight games and elevated Lush’s expectations of the premiere back.

“When we started the season, we wanted to have a 1,000- yard rusher,” Lush said. “Then we wanted to have a 1,500- yard runner. Now, we want him to get to 2,000 yards. That’s just how high he’s set the bar.”

Burns scored two touchdowns in the first quarter followed by two more in the second and another in the third.

He had an 85- yard run for a touchdown to begin the scoring just 1: 17 into the contest.

Burns’ two second- quarter scores came just 2 1/ 2 minutes apart early in the period and Lackey led 35- 0 at halftime. And his night was capped with a 45- yard jaunt 3: 15 in the third to make it 41- 0.

McDonough ( 1- 7, 0- 5) broke up the shutout late in the fourth.

The Rams will be at Northern for a 7 p. m. Friday kickoff versus a Patriots squad that was shut out by St. Charles in Week 8, 14- 0.